i thought this was a good day for john boehner who has had a lot of bad days in leading the house. this was a crase where they had a retreat last weekend. people who were there said it was a very som bell retreat and they agreed to back the speaker. that wouldn't seem remarkable except in the past sometimes they have not been willing to do that. >> ifill: here's i guess the big question, when they say they want to reach across the aisle, when they say they want to talk to democrats, they want to engage, is that real? and is it even necessary? >> well, i think-- i think they want to engage as a way-- as part of the process of achieving their ends. you know, this day andig, everybody says "let's sit and talk." at the end of the day, wield talk and you agree with me and move on to the next subject and you can agree with me as well. that's the way both parties operate. i think the democrats did it much better the last year. the democrats will got a lot of mileage about attacking the republicans for not compromising, and yet most members of the congress, democratic members, seem willing